The Spanish verb. Number and person

The verb number

Verb forms not only express actions, but also inform whether those actions are performed by one or more people. That is why we say that verb forms have number. The number can be singular or plural.

• The verb forms that express actions carried out by a single person are in the singular. For example, canto, arregles, pasea.
• The verb forms that express actions carried out by several people are in the plural. For example, zarparemos, trabajáis, saben.

The person of the verb

Verb forms also inform about the person performing the action.

• If the action is performed by the person or persons speaking, the verb form is in the first person. For example, yo exploro, nosotros exploramos. Verb forms in the first person can accompany the pronouns yo, nosotros and nosotras.
• If the action is performed by the person or persons listening, the verb form is in the second person. For example, tú navegas, vosotros navegáis. Second-person verb forms can accompany the pronouns tú, vosotros, and vosotras.
• If the action is performed by someone other than the speaker or listener, the verb form is in the third person. For example, él piensa, ellos piensan. The third person verb forms can accompany the pronouns él, ella, ellos, ellas.

Non-personal forms

Some verb forms do not express the person doing the action. These verb forms are called non-personal forms (formas no personales).

Non-personal forms are the infinitive (explorar), the gerund (explorando), and the participle (explorado).

The infinitive and gerund have compound forms: haber explorado (compound infinitive) and habiendo explorado (compound gerund).